Ever since the early days of two-way radio engineers have sought and found ways to control transmitters and receivers using remote control. Back in the 50's and 60's control of remote stations were done using: 1) point to point dedicated telephone lines sometimes leased by the month from your friendly Ma-Bell, or 2) a microwave or radio link from your console, dispatch or broadcast studio point to a transmitter located several miles away from the source.

In the 70's and 80's we still had 1) point to point dedicated telephone lines leased by the month from your friendly Ma-Bell, or 2) a microwave or radio link from your console, dispatch or broadcast studio point to a transmitter located several miles away from the business or the broadcast studio but now using a tone to activate the transmitter and sometimes to prevent other stations on the same frequency from accessing your radio or being heard. ( i.e. CG, DTMF, PL and QC )

Along about 1982 we we begin to hear about something called BBS's using dial up modem services that allowed us to connect to something called AOL, Compuserve and local Internet Service Providers ( ISP's ) that could take us out to something called the World Wide Web.

The Internet as we know it Today:

Worldwide communications : Point to Point in milliseconds: Data transfer : Audio and Video transfer and well suited for remote access to any radio system worldwide with computers using program software or smart device Apps :

Rule 1) the formost rule is that you MUST have reliable Broadband Access or point to point radio gear in place ... without these ... you might as well forget about remote access. I strongly suggest Fiber, FIOS or High Speed ISP cable connections.

1) Primary transceiver and amplifier control is with Carl's, N4PY, software that supports many models of radios as well as my Tentec Omni VII tranceivers. .

2) For heightened security I run a secondary software called GoToMyPc that basicly gives me a "backbone" for security and system maintenance.

3) To accommodate Internet listeners I use BroadWaveStreaming Audio Server software for stream, archive and play back logs.

4) The ten available antennas for the <VEN> transceiver are selected by use of an ACOM 2000SW / SAutomatic / Manual Coax Switch.

About the W4BSB Streams:

These stream(s) of Amateur DMR and HF radio are compliments of Jay James - W4BSB- At the present time audio is streamed to the Internet 24 / 7 so listeners who are traveling, in the hospital, or away from their "Shack" can listen-in. The current 3 - 7 second Internet audio delay can be very useful for checking to see how your rig sounds.

Both sites:Virginia Beach, Virginia <VAB> and Venus, Texas <VEN> have Tentec Omni VII transceivers that operate in a fully automatic mode 24/7 using software developed by Carl - N4PY and NCH - with BroadWave Streaming Audio Server software - for stream, archive and play back logs. Comments, reception reports, suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. These should be directed to Jay James - jjames@W4BSB.NET.

STREAM 1:is a Tentec Omni VII transceiver supported by three separate inverted Vee's for 20, 40 and 80 meters located at my tower site in the Kempsville area of the City of Virginia Beach, Va.

STREAM 2:is an identical Tentec Omni VII transceiver connected to an array of ten antennas for use on all HF amateur bands. Among the array of ten is what is best described as a "True Delta Loop" antenna - ( Center-Fed from the APEX at 97 feet with 509' of 12 gauge, solid copper wire, sky-blue, vinyl coated in the air ) matched exclusively for 1:1 SWR on both 3840 and 1990Khz. All <VEN> antennas are located at the WA5FWC tower site in Venus, Texas. Recently was the erection of a slopper antenna with the feed point being at the 190 foot level of a 200 foot tower located at <VEN>.

Both stations:are 19" rack mounted equipment that can be remotely operated from anywhere in the world with high speed Broadband access. Both streams can be accessed using Driods, iPads, iPhones, Laptops, Netbooks and PC's using today's Microsoft technology, Smartphones an Apple APP's. ( see pictures of the gear below )

Station AMPS:<VEN> currently has one one Ameritron ALS-500 solid state AMP in place for use on all HF amateur bands.

<VAB> has one remote controlled Ameritron ALS-1300 for use on all HF bands, a DX Engineering CC-8A Control Console. The CC-8A is mounted in a weatherproof box with a 4X16 copper BUSS bar from Georgia Copper and nine PolyPhaser devices. Local<VAB> in "Shack" control of the ALS-1300 and the CC-8A is via local switches for each device.

Disclaimer: The views represented by amateur radio operators you hear on these streams do not necessarily represent
the views of the Owner, Webmaster or Sponsors of this site.

Welcome Aboard and Enjoy ... Jay - W4BSB

All about my <VAB> and my< VEN >Venus, Texas

Remote HF Transceiver Sites

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In this PIC - Josh Berry, AE5FN - who always has a smile is working working with Dave D'arcy - KF5LKG

Dave D'arcy has spent many hours atop the W4BSB towers at the ranch doing antenna repair and maintenance on my <VEN> installation

( the W4BSB tower is on the right side of this photo and just East of the 200 ft tower in photo below )

The Farm

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Visiting Uncle Hugh, W4BSB, at the farm for the weekend with my Mom and Dad, after Sunday services at Zoar's Church near Bristersburg, VA.

"It was Monday, November 2nd, 1949 ... I was 8 years old and getting to stay up late to "play radio" as Uncle called it, with a funny looking thing he said was a " key". Over in the corner of the room was some military surplus equipment with tubes that glowed in the dark. Everything was inside a wooden cage covered with chicken wire and a High Voltage sign hanging on the outside of the cage. ... I was simply fascinated with what my Uncle Hugh said the strange noises (CW) were saying coming out of that old Bendix speaker"

By the way the hit song of the day was - Frankie Laine's - " That Lucky Old Sun " - Click on the Flag to listen

I am currently 77 years young and came back to the amateur radio hobby in 2007 after 40 years of being away. Over the past 58+ years I have been active mostly in Public Safety Radio Communications starting with my first installer / tech job in 1958 at Gately Communications in Hampton, Virginia.

In 1962, I began a career in Law Enforcement / Public Safety as a City of Hampton Police Officer, a Virginia State Trooper ... and later as Owner of Colonial Communications and Electronics Inc., Commercial with Two-way Radio Service Centers serving Southside Virginia and Northern North Carolina.

I retired for the 4th and final time in 2017 and still enjoy working 30 plus hours a week as an IT / Network Operations Manager. That keeps me active, gives me a reason to get out of the house every day, and a chance to stay up to date with what is happening in the amateur radio communications and electronics industry. I enjoy experimenting with antennas, wireless devices, building PC's and advanced MotoTRBO DMR computer networks. .My mobile SUV installation is complete with all the necessary toys to make any Ham Operator proud. At my age if I'm going to have a mobile toy box then it's "Gonna" have.ALL the toys. Hi Hi. See my QRZ listing for the equipment lineup.